Zagreb, (IKA) – On Sunday, May 4, Don Živko Kustić celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood in the Chapel of St Leopold Bogdan Mandić at the Center Home for the Aged and Infirm in Zagreb. The concelebrants were Prelate Vladimir Stanković; the pastor of the Parish of St. Blaise, the Rev. Zvonimir Sekelj; the head of the Holy Mother of Freedom Shrine, the Rev. Petar Šimić; the rector of the Greek Catholic Seminary, the Rev. Nikola Kekić and the Rev. Gorazd Bastašić.

At the beginning of the Mass, Prelate Stanković read a message from the archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić. In the message, the cardinal outlined Don Živko’s life in the priesthood, from his ordination on May 4, 1958 in Križevci to his work for the Catholic publication Glas Koncila.
“You were a journalist, reporter, columnist, editor-in-chief at Glas Koncila … Many in those difficult times during the former regime lived and renewed their faith and hope, owing to the inspired texts from the pages of Glas Koncila, and these texts were for the most part the fruit of your work, exploration and intellectual effort. Writing thousands and thousands of pages, you transformed Glas Koncila into a voice of freedom, a voice of hope in a better future, a voice of the humiliated and marginalized,” noted Cardinal Bozanić. He also mentioned Don Živko’s work at the Catholic Press Agency — IKA, and in the apostolate of the living word as a much sought after preacher, leader of numerous missions and spiritual renewals in Croatia and throughout the world, and at Croatian Catholic missions. “In addition to the many offices entrusted to you in the Church institutions and other bodies, you were also the episcopal consultor of the Križevci Eparchy, and from the Holy See you were awarded the title of Protopresbyter Stavrofor,” emphasized the cardinal. At the end of his message, congratulating Don Živko on his golden jubilee, Cardinal Bozanić thanked him for his magnanimous and unselfish service as a priest, and noted that he has indebted the Croatian nation and the Catholic Church among it, to which he has always remained faithful, ready to work, testify and also to suffer.
In the homily, Prelate Stanković correlated the Mass readings with the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Kustić’s ordination to the priesthood. As the apostles differed in terms of their abilities and left various legacies, thus later did individual bishops and priests leave various legacies from their religious service. However, God gave some of them particular talents which they invested in spreading the Kingdom of God, leaving particularly visible legacies. Among such I dare to number Don Živko Kustić, whose anniversary we are celebrating today, and si licet parva componere magnis, i.e. if it is permitted to compare the great with the little — I would call him an apostle of our time! He has engaged in all forms of pastoral, journalistic, oratorical, patriotic and numerous other activities, which had an impact not only in Mrzlo Polje in Žumberak or Sošice, in the Križevci Eparchy and the Zagreb Archdiocese, not only in the dioceses in the region where the Croatian language is spoken but particularly among the millions of the Croatian diaspora on all the continents,” emphasized Prelate Stanković.
He recalled how the Rev. Kustić, in his tireless and multifaceted public engagement, was forced to test the truth of that which Peter said to the first Christians: “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory, which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you.” The Holy Spirit rested Don Živko at his ordination to the priesthood fifty years ago when he became a “partaker in the suffering of Christ.”
The sufferings Don Živko endured were numerous and varied from the very beginning in Žumberak, including those of elementary existence and physical labor, the struggle to survive, the care and support of the many children whom his faithful life’s companion Marica gave him — with the prayers and blessing of the Blessed Alojzije Stepinac who was in nearby Krašić, and who provided him and his fellow priests, particularly the pastor of Samobor, Franjo Kuharić, not only with a model but an inspiration and visible spiritual help.
“As a young priest, Don Živko matured under two cardinals, with two saints, and the third, Franjo Šeper, recognized journalistic greatness in him and brought him to Glas Koncila, thereby opening an uncharted field for him which he continues to plough and sow. He will still not be silenced today, for which his fourth archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, has awarded him recognition,” said Prelate Stanković. He observed that a religious vocation is God’s choice and God’s gift, and that Jesus’ prayer follows all faithful priests, who are people with all their weaknesses — “in the world.” For all the great successes in the pastoral and public work of a priest, Jesus said: “And I have been glorified in them.”
If any of our contemporary priests, speaking in human terms, have had great recognition, successes and genuine triumphs throughout the world, then it was Don Živko. However, well acquainted with life and the ephemerality of fame, Don Živko always recognized that it was Jesus who was glorified in him.
The celebration of the Mass was enhanced by the choir of the Center Home for the Aged and Infirm, accompanied on the organ by Sister Vjera Posavec, the vocal group Duga (Rainbow) from Dugo Selo under the direction of Zlatica Šajković and the Cyril and Methodius Choir under the direction of Darjana Blaće Šojat. The liturgical portion of the celebration was completed with a hymn of thanksgiving. The celebration continued in the main dining room of the retirement home, where Ivan Šimunović, the director of the home, thanked Don Živko for his ten years of pastoral ministry, during which he has distributed communion and at all times, day and night, has been available to visit the sick and the dying.
On May 2, Cardinal Bozanić visited Don Živko and presented him with a medallion bearing the inscription Blessed Pastors of the Zagreb Church.